Posts By Nathan Whipple

Advertising is a fickle industry. Sometimes, ads are viewed as works of art unto themselves, and cause us to laugh, cry, and experience every emotion in between. Other times, we download third party software with the explicit intent of never seeing an ad again. Some ads utilize data to inform, entertain, or even aid us, while others embody an almost stalker-like presence through their targeting. All ads, however, share one common trait: they are a mirror of our inner desires.

If an advertisement is supposed to play to a person’s base desires, doesn’t it make sense that those same ads speak to the current state of our society? This raises another question: what do we desire?

When you watch a well done, thoughtfully crafted advertisement, you’re investing your time in more than a product. You’re investing in a narrative. As 2016 has mercifully wound to a close, we take a look back on the narratives that resonated the most with our society from the past year. These selections appeared in multiple “Top X” lists throughout the year, and begin to paint the picture of how we perceive ourselves and those around us.

Data takes on many forms. Sometimes, data can look like a synthetic life form on the USS Enterprise. Other times, like a gadget-wielding little boy in the Goonies. But more often than not, we envision data as long strings of integers that stretch out to infinity and come accompanied with the dial-up Internet noise. While data is integrated into nearly every facet of our lives, there still remains a disconnect between the numbers and how they’re presented. I mean, all a baseball pitcher really has to do is stand on a hill and throw to another player, but their stat sheets make it look like they’re coding the next Apollo mission at the same time. This is precisely why I take notice when a company is able to blend data and marketing so effortlessly, or at least make it seem that way. Here are some examples that showcase the versatility of data presentation when it comes to company branding. Read More

They’re the crossover athlete everyone talks about. The guy that plays football, but everyone says would make a top tier MLB player. There have been plenty of rumors about if such a transition might happen for years, but nothing ever really came of them. But now, after spending all this time sitting in the bleachers, it appears they’re finally ready to step out onto the ball field and take a swing.

Except they want to use their own bat, their own ball, and the other team has to teach them how to play.Read More

The fall season is full of change. Leaves change their color, pumpkin spice brutally divides a nation, and my social media feeds begin demanding sacrifice. If I went to a pumpkin patch but didn’t post pictures of my trip, is it like I even went? If I think Thanksgiving should get more acknowledgment but don’t rant about it on Twitter, is it like I even care? If I don’t make a big deal about the fall season in general, is it like I even care about anything?

But I digress.

What I do care about is providing you with a roundup of all the changes that are going on with social media over the past couple of weeks, and much like the nature of the fall season, there has been a lot of change going on with the Internet’s big players, starting with…Read More

With automakers from across the globe vying for attention at the 2016 LA Auto Show, Honda once again was able to capture the spotlight with two big reveals, the first being the unveiling of the Honda Civic Si Prototype and being named the title sponsor of the 2017 NHL All-Star Game.Read More

Automotive companies have been pushing the inclusion of VR into their sales strategies for the past year, and show no signs of slowing down. The reason? Those dang young people again. So, what are we to make from all of this? Does it mean that the car buying experience of today is no more?

Once upon a time, a cobbler lived in a village not too far from where you are now. He was quite skilled at his craft; in fact, there was one year where he even outsold a quite renowned cobbler a few villages over. This was thanks in part to a beautiful new pair of shoes he constructed that same year, and they were truly the talk of the townsfolk. “The best in all the land!” the people sang. One evening, there was a grand ball in the biggest village, and all the fair maidens (and gentlemen too) wore these shoes. The night was simply superb until a stroke of bad luck made it so a large number of the shoes spontaneously burst into flame.Read More